Midnight shrouded the capital in velvet and silence.
Ashara stood before the weather-worn ruins of the Old Bell Temple, a forgotten shrine half-buried beneath the western cliffs of Arcalis. Only a crumbling archway remained above ground, choked by ivy and thistle, but beneath it—if the System's whispers could be trusted—lay something far more dangerous.
System Alert
➤ Sub-Quest Triggered: Trial of the Forsworn Flame
Objective: Investigate Cultic Ritual Site
Risk Level: Severe
Hidden Objective: Unlock First Divine Trial
Location Status: Sealed, Warded, Tainted.
Ezekiel stood beside her, arms folded, his sword slung casually over one shoulder. In the dark, with the wind tousling his hair and the tension clinging to his shoulders like armor, he looked every inch the warhound he once was.
"Still time to walk away," he murmured. "You've already survived more than fate allowed you."
Ashara didn't smile. "I don't want to survive anymore. I want to reshape the knife that cut me."
With that, she stepped forward, raising her palm toward the faded glyphs etched into the crumbling stone.
The System shimmered across her vision, glyphs pulsing faintly in response.
System Action: Activating Relic Seal
Ancient Language Detected: Pre-Ecliptian
Decoding…
Seal Broken.
A wind howled from the earth below as the stone trembled—and then the ground split open.
They descended slowly, torchlight barely holding back the void around them. What had once been a temple now resembled a subterranean tomb: walls etched with profane prayers, piles of ash where incense once burned, and broken statues of the old gods, their faces gouged out.
Ashara's breath frosted in the air. The deeper they went, the colder it grew.
And then they reached it.
A circular chamber veiled in flame-shaped carvings. In the center, a dais—blood-stained and cracked—awaited like a sacrificial stage.
Kallad was already there.
Leaning against a shattered column, arms folded, mask gone. He looked up when they entered, expression unreadable.
"Surprised it took you this long," he said to Ashara.
Ezekiel stiffened. "You followed us."
"No," Kallad replied, calm. "I led you here."
Ashara's fingers curled. "Explain."
Kallad walked forward, eyes not on her but the dais. "My mother once told me that beneath the Bell Temple lay an altar used by heretics who whispered to something they called the First Flame. The church denied it, of course. Claimed it was a myth. But I always remembered."
Ashara's heartbeat stilled.
"You were part of this once," she said quietly. "The cult?"
"I was born into it," he said. "But I never belonged to it."
System Thread Identified: Prince Kallad – Hidden Alignment
✦ Loyalty: 53%
✦ Divine Affinity: Twin-Touched
Fate Fork Present – Conflicted Destiny Detected.
Without warning, the torchlight dimmed.
The air thickened. A second heartbeat echoed in Ashara's chest.
System Alert: Divine Trial Activated – Trial of the Forsworn Flame
✦ Difficulty: High
✦ Trial Components:
– Mental Fortitude
– Truth Confrontation
– Loyalty Judgment
❖ Time Limit: One Hour
❖ Failure Consequences: Memory Lock, Sanity Deterioration, Loyalty Drain (Major)
The dais flared with crimson sigils.
Ashara stumbled forward involuntarily, the System pushing her toward the center.
Ezekiel reached for her, but a glowing barrier flared between them.
"I have to do this," she said, voice calm but breathless.
Kallad watched from the shadows, his expression unreadable.
As she stepped onto the dais, the world tilted.
She was no longer underground.
She stood in a throne room—but not hers. Not yet. Black banners hung torn from the ceiling. Her hands dripped with blood. Her crown was gone.
And before her, kneeling, were them.
Ezekiel. Bleeding, broken—but loyal to the end.
Kallad. Silent, bound in silver chains. Watching her with cold betrayal.
Ashara tried to speak—but the voice that came from her lips wasn't hers. It was cruel. Sharp.
"Dispose of them."
"No," she whispered.
But the memory kept playing.
Her other self raised a blade and drove it into Ezekiel's chest.
Ashara screamed.
System Interface: Internal Conflict Detected
✦ Loyalty Check: Ezekiel – Passed
✦ Loyalty Check: Kallad – Unstable
❖ Partial Truth Overwritten
Memory Fragment Unlocked:
— The betrayal had been seeded by divine hands. She had not killed Ezekiel. She had been possessed.
Ashara collapsed to her knees as the illusion shattered.
Ezekiel burst through the weakening barrier and caught her before she hit the stone.
She gasped against him, heart shuddering.
"I killed you," she whispered. "I thought I did…"
"You didn't," he said fiercely. "You won't."
Trial Complete – Partial Victory Achieved
✦ System Update: Loyalty Mechanic Unlocked
— Loyalty acts as both shield and conduit.
— Loyalty 100% may unlock unique endings or prevent betrayal mechanics.
— Disloyal units may be turned by divine interference.
✦ Cult Threat Level Updated: 43%
— Ritual Catalyst Discovered: Crownblood Bearer
Next Trial Location Unlocked: The Reliquary of Echoes (Old Eastern Forest)
Ashara stood slowly, fire burning behind her ribs.
Kallad approached at last, watching her carefully.
"You saw it," he said.
"I lived it," she answered.
He hesitated.
"Would you still trust me," he said, "if I told you I was meant to be the one to kill you?"
Ashara didn't flinch.
"I don't want obedience," she murmured. "I want a kingdom. And kingdoms are built on trust—and treachery."
Then she turned from him and walked toward the stairs.
And both men followed.